August 21, 2014 1:03am EDTAugust 20, 2014 2:03pm EDTCarl Edwards admits he wasn't the best teammate early in his career. He vows to change that at Joe Gibbs Racing, which is taking a gamble as it starts a fourth Sprint Cup team with Edwards as its driver.From left, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Busch.(AP Photo)

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Gibbs knows that things happen between teammates. But he also knew that Kenseth had spent eight years with Edwards at Roush Fenway and knew him well.

“(Kenseth) said, ‘This guy, you get him over here, he's going to win races. He'll be a good teammate. … He's really, really good with sponsors,’” Gibbs said Tuesday in recalling the conversation. “So Matt was the first person we talked to, and then we went to Denny, we went to Kyle, because it is teamwork.

“This sport is unusual because you have to work together to get better, to get more information, to have more input on the weekend. We think this is the right combination for us."

While Hendrick Motorsports has been able to make four teams work, other organizations have not. Richard Childress Racing never did. Roush Fenway made five teams work so well that NASCAR set the limit at four, but the organization never had four teams working in sync again.

But with a star in Edwards available, Gibbs felt like he had to take the chance. The team will have full sponsorship — all four Gibbs teams will have full sponsorship for 2015.

The other thing going for JGR is that it has four veteran drivers. Kenseth will be in his 16th year of Cup racing next season, while Edwards will be in his 11th, Kyle Busch in his 11th as well and Denny Hamlin in his 10th.

“Having four experienced guys is certainly going to help,” Busch said. “It’s also going to help in team meetings and the discussions we have with our engineers and our support group that helps us and builds the cars, telling them what direction we want them to go or what things we want them to work on.

“You have way more leverage having experienced guys telling you than you would a rookie. All that helps. Carl’s work ethic — he’s a strong individual and works hard at what he wants, so I think that all is going to pay off.”

Kenseth said JGR is ready for a fourth team, and that he and Edwards have grown closer with children who are similar ages.

“I feel really good about it, way better than I thought I would, because last year I had such a great year and it was such a great mix with Denny and Kyle,” Kenseth said. “But I really think Carl is going to add to that mix and if everything goes how it should go, we should have four teams that can win on any given week.

“There is a high value on having really good teammates that a lot of people miss sometimes, and a goal to having teammates is teammates that can win each and every week."

But maybe the most important thing is that Edwards understands the importance of teammate dynamics. He pledged that he would not make the same mistakes he made early in his career at Roush Fenway.

“One of my goals in coming here is to come in and be a really, really good teammate to these guys,” Edwards said. “I have learned a lot about how to be a good teammate. Admittedly, I was not the best teammate at the beginning of my career.

“I felt I had a lot of the every man-for-himself attitude, and wanting to prove myself regardless of any damage to the relationships. I didn't think of it is a real team atmosphere.”

While Gibbs joked that he will need a psychologist with four drivers all trying to work together while also trying to beat one another, Edwards thinks he will fit in fine.

“I’ve been around Matt a lot, and our relationship is as good as any relationship I’ve had with anyone in the garage and better in some ways,” Edwards said. “I’ve learned a lot from Matt. … The things I’ve heard about Denny’s ability to analyze a car and think through things, they say is unprecedented.

“Kyle Busch? He is so massively talented, just the opportunity to look at his data will be spectacular for me.”

He might have more of an opportunity to be a better teammate at JGR than he did at Roush Fenway.

“One of the neatest things for me, that I never expected from this place when I came here, is how much they include me in things and how much they value my opinion and like to have you in meetings and run things by you that are probably none of my business,” Kenseth said.

“That's one thing I really value here.”

Edwards hopes he will be an additional asset that Kenseth will value.

“I've learned a lot over the years,” Edwards said. “I really value my teammates now. From my perspective, I'm going to do everything I can to be the best teammate I can be, to contribute to the group so that overall we can be better.

“When I look around at who does well in the sport, it seems the people who do that well succeed.”